Nokia is making a comeback! The phone maker that once ruled the mobile market, “connecting people” for over two decades, is now planning to do the same with its networking solutions in the age of AI.
Recently, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark highlighted the company’s unique position in the global market, emphasising that Nokia is the only firm capable of delivering all key networking components outside of China.
This includes core network software, transport networks, optical connections, and fixed broadband and mobile access networks. This capability positions Nokia as a pivotal player in the connectivity landscape, essential for leveraging the full potential of AI and cloud technologies.
In a recent interview, Lundmark discussed the paradigm shift in networking, emphasising the need for simplified, automated, and programmable networks to support the next generation of applications, including AI-driven services.
He pointed out that without robust networking infrastructure, the benefits of AI and cloud computing would be unattainable.
Unique Partnerships & Collaborations
In February 2024, Nokia announced a partnership with NVIDIA to leverage the latter’s cutting-edge Grace CPU Superchip and GPUs to enhance Nokia’s anyRAN solution, which allows operators to choose between traditional, hybrid, or cloud-native RAN (Radio Access Network) environments.
The integration of AI into Cloud RAN is expected to bring mobile networks unprecedented levels of efficiency, flexibility, and performance.
Tommi Uitto, the president of mobile networks at Nokia, emphasised the transformative potential of this collaboration: “This is an important collaboration with NVIDIA that will explore how AI can play a transformative role in the future of our industry.
“It is a further example of our anyRAN approach that is helping to make Cloud RAN a commercial reality”.
In the same month of 2024, Nokia and Qualcomm announced a joint research initiative focused on AI interoperability technology designed to boost wireless capacity and performance.
Utilising a technique called sequential learning, Nokia and Qualcomm have developed a prototype that allows AI models to be independently trained while still coordinating effectively.
This approach enables multi-vendor interoperability without the need to share proprietary AI models, which are often a key differentiator for vendors.
The same prototype was demonstrated at Mobile World Congress 2024, and it showcased how sequential learning can optimise radio performance and reduce energy consumption in wireless systems.
Nokia has also collaborated with Dell to integrate its infrastructure solutions with Nokia’s private wireless networks, creating a robust ecosystem for enterprise customers.
By leveraging Dell’s extensive infrastructure capabilities, Nokia aims to enhance the deployment and management of private wireless networks, which are crucial for industrial IoT applications and smart factories.
“Through our collaboration, Nokia and Dell Technologies will harness each other’s expertise and expand distribution to quickly scale modern telecom networks and private 5G use cases,” said Dennis Hoffman, senior vice president and general manager of telecom systems business, Dell Technologies.
On the software side, Nokia’s partnership with Google marks a significant milestone in integrating AI into telecommunications. By incorporating Google’s AI solutions into its Network as Code platform, Nokia aims to simplify the creation and deployment of 5G applications.
Connecting People (through AI)
Nokia’s exploration of generative AI represents another significant milestone in its AI journey. The company has been leveraging cloud computing and in-house solutions to develop custom LLM-based tools.
This initiative, known as the Nokia LLM Gateway, has seen over 200 use-case candidates, with 52 advancing to the proof-of-concept stage.
Nokia’s commitment to AI is evident in its approach to network deployments. By integrating AI and ML, Nokia has significantly improved the accuracy, efficiency, and safety of its field operations.
This has led to a 30% increase in First Time Right achievements and a 25% reduction in quality verification time. Nokia is planning to integrate AI across network operations by 2030 to enable real-time, autonomous responses to network needs and events.
This strategy aims to deliver network-wide performance optimisation, zero-touch automation, and enhanced security, privacy, and energy efficiency.
